Armitages A Frame - Smart Car Fire - Locksmiths Bad Luck Strikes again.

Tony Lee said:
Well, now that canalsman has kicked you when you are down, perhaps time for some positives.

With proper attention to detail, a-framing a small vehicle behind the motorhome is THE most convenient way to do it. Hundreds of thousands of Americans do it, thousands of Australians do it and of course a few Europeans do it as well. You have problems with legality which is another consideration that really can't be ignored.
I've A-framed a Suzuki Grand Vitara for probably 25000km around Australia on roads so bad that most people would consider them undriveable with absolutely no problems.

One thing I always do is start off and when we are just moving, depress the clutch and see what happens. If the rig coasts as normal, then the toad brakes aren't on and it is not in gear. (once, Betty didn't get the transfer case fully in Neutral and since instructions are to have the main gearbox in 2nd, this meant that the car was in gear and this was immediately obvious from the slowdown even though the whole rig weighs 17 tonnes.) Next, make as sharp a turn as possible and check in the mirrors that the front wheels are turning.

On a practical level in your case. Is the smart car fully insured? If so, then obviously most of the problems become ones for your insurance company to sort out and you should save yourself the worry and let them do it. Obviously there will still be comeback on that company for compensation for your out of pocket expenses and insurance shortfalls and incidentals, but that isn't going to be as bad as trying to sort it all out yourself.

Also, depending on your thoughts and whether the company does the right thing in a very short time, would it help if we had contact details of the company and many of us wrote emails to them letting them know we had learned of the case on the internet and were very concerned about the way the case seemed to be progressing etc etc etc. I would have thought that having the details of the case aired on several UK forums with tens of thousands of motorhome owners might be a good incentive for them to do the right thing and do it immediately.
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For what its worth. Email sent.

Richard
 
Smart Car was removed from Highway's Agency's compound

The Smart car has been removed from the highways Agency compound after I was called by them to say that Armitages wanted access to it. The Highways Agency allowed them to Photograph it but not to touch it.
Makes me wonder why Wayne of Armitages was so keen to get my son and I to leave the fire scene??
He seemed genuinely concerned for my lost car and that we were OK, said he would compensate us and also said that his father would sort us a courtesy car last Tuesday .. ( Not a Word )
Seems his concern was and is for himself.
 
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That is two at least but two emails a campaign doth not make.

How about another thousand or two. Nice and polite and factual and suggesting they might sort things out sooner than later.

Quite frankly, if this had happened to me when I was in business, I would be knocking on the customers door the next day with a bottle of booze and a big bunch of flowers and box of chocolates for the wife AND the keys to a brand new car - next model up - all fitted with an A-frame - and the local newspaper to record the event.

The good Samaritan act might cost a few dollars but the good publicity would make it very worthwhile.
 
Speaking of newspapers, did this fire get into the papers - with a bit of background info as well. Perhaps time for a followup?
 
6 more Emails on there way from Spain and some from my Spanish and French friends here. All the best with this,
 
Hi locksmith I have sent email.

All the best to to you and and your wife

Rob and Sue
 
What a nightmare.
I own a Smart car and arranged for Armitages to fit an "A" frame to it.
They gave me a quote which wasn't cheap but I accepted it. For some reason I felt very uneasy about having my shiny new car altered even though Armitages assured me it didn't effect the warranty.
Smart do not recommend towing thier vehicles even though many owners do it.
I chickened out and cancelled the booking.
I must stress that Armitages Towbars did absolutly nothing wrong in this case, it was my gut feeling about towing it. Reading about your problem has left me cold.
I hope everything works out well for you.
Ken
 
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Nothing to do with this case that seems to have involved a jammed cable holding brakes on - or since it was the back wheels that were red hot, the handbrake left on, but it is obvious that there are significant problems in towing smart cars if the controls are not set exactly right. Googling "flat towing smart car" finds mostly irrelevant US forum posts but there are a couple of UK ones that make worthwhile reading


If you want to send an email to an actual person, nigel@armitagetrailers.com works - so maybe wayne@ works as well.
 
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there are thousands of smart cars being towed on afr mes. its possibly the most towed car ever been made. saw loads this winter in spain being towed .saw some today on bodmin moor heading down into cornwall. better to stop the scare mongering . lets just stick with the truth. looks like a fault with the brake cable tube . i normally use bowden cable works a treat .as for changing the front of the car . seems abit unlikely . be hard to be illegal even if they did. contact your insurer and have you legal assistance to help you. everybody can make mistakes .nobody is perfect all the time. with yours and the police statements given the time scale of things it should be sorted quick ,hope its al over soon.
 
Tony Lee said:
Nothing to do with this case that seems to have involved a jammed cable holding brakes on - or since it was the back wheels that were red hot, the handbrake left on, but it is obvious that there are significant problems in towing smart cars if the controls are not set exactly right. Googling "flat towing smart car" finds mostly irrelevant US forum posts but there are a couple of UK ones that make worthwhile reading


If you want to send an email to an actual person, nigel@armitagetrailers.com works - so maybe wayne@ works as well.
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One of my questions was why did the front breaks not get as hot. answer from another A Frame manufacturer is because the front is discs and drums on the back are enclosed and will get hotter because the air does not cool them the same ??
He also told me of another case of the tyre's wearing away on the back more than the front when brakes were binding because the drag depending on the hight of the tow bar takes the weight of the front of the car almost lifting the front wheels off the ground.. seemed odd but who am I to say different.
This Chap has another Smart Car that has an Armitages A Frame and he is changing it and replacing the the damaged braking system and wheels.
 
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I guess the elastic strap attached to the brake pedal is designed to make sure there isn't even the slightest bit of drag when the rig isn't braking, but of course not much use if there is a major problem with the actuating cable jamming hard.

Might apply it to my system because there has been a couple of times where the toad battery was flat because the brake lights were on all the time - presumably because a slight amount of drag holding the pedal forward a touch.
 
My comments about A-frame towing and the safety aspects have to be taken in context. And the comments weren't intended to upset Locksmith with whom I have every sympathy ...

A car with servo assisted braking (which only functions when the engine's running), and front wheels that are steered rather than fixed, cannot possibly be as safe to tow as a four wheel trailer with properly engineered overrun braking.

The trailer is purpose designed rather than a cobbled together solution that presumably is intended to save money rather than safe and secure towing.
 
hi, the sevo does not make you have better brakes .it just makes the application easier. there as been several test done on brake rolling roads testers that easily show that if you disconect the servo you can still get the same braking efficancy. unfortunately remarks said without knowledge can give the wrong impression. i,m sure if you doubt my words you could try this out with the help of a friendly mot test station. i do remember geo on motorhome fun did this as a test a couple of years ago. i think he was suprised a little. remember you do have the full weight of the car working the brakes not a human foot .(and that could be a very delicate young ladies foot)even so please best not make remarks that sound like facts if you dont know what you are talking about. specially as it can be deemed the truth.also the front wheels on an aframe arent fixed . they turn by weight transfer just like having somebody steering. the brakes are in fact worked just like a trailers brakes . and in fact if an electric or air brake is fitted can be more efficent than ever. as this one was cable operated it works like most trailers . the differance being the auto matic reverse on the trailer brakes .
 
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Standard procedure is to operate the brake pedal several times after switching off the engine to make sure the vacuum reservoir is exhausted. If this isn't done,
the first time or two that the MH brakes, the toad wheels lock up momentarily.

Unless the toad is a significant proportion of the weight of the tug, or the tug has crappy brakes, all that is needed is enough toad braking to keep it from jackknifing.
 
kenjones said:
I have just had another look at your photos. Can't be sure but it does look like the handbrake is in the OFF position as it should be.
Are you a member of The Smart Club?
It is free,I'm sure members would be interested and may be helpful.


thesmartclub : the world's largest club for smart car owners and enthusiasts
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I'm 100% sure the handbrake was off as three of us checked it as we went through the list of procedures printed on the A Frame, I always put it in neutral while the car was running, then rev it to see if it tries to pull away, this was done and after we did the test laps of the car park and he adjusted the cable and checked the bungee, I locked it and left, 15 - 20 mins later it was on fire.
 
and he adjusted the cable and checked the bungee
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Yep, that is the critical part. So why the hell aren't they on your doorstep grovelling for forgiveness - or at least in constant touch with you to make sure you are OK

Keep those emails going people - to info@armitagetrailers.com or nigel@
 
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